Machine for forming cylindrical containers



Oct. 20, 1936. A. H. SCHMIDTKE MACHINE FOR FORMING CYLINDRICAL CONTAINERS 10 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 11, 1935 a j. f g M. fl

Oct. 20, 1936. A. H.-SCHMIDTKE MACHINE FOR FORMING CYLINDRICAL CONTAINERS Filed April'll, 1935 10 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 20, 1936. A. H. SCHMIDTKE 2,053,182

- MACHINE FOR FORMING CYLI NDRICAL CONTAINERS Filed April 11, 1955 10 Sheets-Sheet s.

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Oct. 20, 1936. A.'|-|, SCHMIDTKE I MACHINE FOR FORMING CYLI-NDRICAL CONTAINERS Filed April 11, 1935 10 S he etsSheet 4 merflldw k W %%a I Oct.20, 1936. A. H. SCHMIDTKE 2,053,182

MACHINE Fox FORMING CYLINDRICAL CONTAINERS Filed Apl-il 11, 1935 10 Sheets-Sheet 5 I Oct. 20, 1936. A. l-LSCHMIDTKE 2,058,182

MACHINE FOR FORMING CYLINDRICAL CONTAINERS Filed Apri1 11, 1935 10 sheets sheet s I 17 4 44 &

Oct. 20, 1936. A. H. SCHMIDTKE 2,058,182-

MACHINE FOR FORMING GYLINDRICAL CONTAINERS- Filed April 11, 1935 10 Sheets-Shet '1 Oct. 20, 1936. .A. H. SCHMIDTKE ,0

MACHINE FOR FORMING CYLI'NDRICAL CONTAINERS Filed April 11, 1935 10 ShGGS-Sheet Oct. 20, 1936. A. H. SCHMIDTKE MACHINE FOR FORMING CYLINDRICAL CONTAINERS Filed April 11, 1935 10 Sheets-Sheet 9 Oct. 20, 1936. A. H. SICHMIDTKE Q MACHINE FOR FORMING CYLINDRICAL .CON'IAINERS Filed April 11, 1935 10 Sheets-Sheet 10 ftza Patented Oct. 20, 1936 v MACHINE FOR FORMING CYLINDRICAL CONTAINERS Albert H. Schmidtke, St. Joseph, Mich assignor, by mcsne assignments, to Seymour & Peck Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application April 11, 1935, Serial No. 1 5,785

1 Claims. (01. 93-81) An object of this invention is to provide mechanism for rapidly and efliciently forming cylinof Fig. 3;

drical "containers from sheet material, and for riveting or stapling the overlapping ends.

This and other objects, as will hereinafter appear, are accomplished by this invention which is fully described in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same;

Fig. 3 is a partial vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a partial enlarged sectional view of the clutch of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective of the locking plunger of Fig. 4;

Fig. '7 is a partial sectional view on the line I I Fig. 8 is an enlarged vertical section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 9 is a vertical section on the line 8 of Fig. 8; v

Fig. 10 is an enlarged vertical section on the line ll] of Fig. 2;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged transverse section on the line of Fig. 10; I

Fig. 12 is a partial enlarged vertical section on the line l2 of Fig. 10;

Fig. 13 is an enlarged end elevation as viewed on the line I3 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 14 and 15 are enlarged vertical sections on the lines |4-l4 of Fig. 1 showing the drum at the beginning and end of the cylinder forming operation respectively;

Fig. 16 is a developed view of a plywood sheet from which the cylinder may be formed;

Fig. 1'7 is a longitudinal section on the broken line 'I'l-l'| of Fig. 13;-

Fig. 18 is a perspective view of the cylinder after being formed by this machine;

Fig. 19 is an end elevation of the drum showing the plywood strip inserted prior to the bending operation;

Fig. 20 is the same showing the plywood strip wound about the drum and ready for the application of the staples;

Fig. 21 is a side elevation of the drum with .the strip wound thereon showing the drum in various positions during the stapling operations;

Fig. 22 is the same showing the drum at the extreme outermost position during and following the last stapling operation;

Fig. 23 is the same showing the drum retracted and the cylinder removed;

'Fig. 24 is a similar view showing the stripper retracted;

- Fig. 25 is a front elevation of a modified form 5 of the machine; I

Figs. 26 and 27 are partial enlarged vertical sections on lines 26-26 and 21-21 of Fig. 26; Fig. 28 is a vertical section on the line 28-28 of Fig. 27; 10

Fig. 29 is a partial enlarged section on the line 29 of Fig. 25; I Fig. 30 is an enlarged end view of the mandrel of Fig. 25; and

Fig. 31 is a partial enlarged section on the line 3| of Fig. 25.

The machine as illustrated takes a fiat rectangular panel .A of sheet material such as plywood (Fig. 16) having. a metal strip B at each-side secured thereto by means of staples or the like 20 C, and rolls this into a cylindrical form, the edges of the plywood panel A overlapping. While so held in this overlapping relation in the machine the overlapping edges are permanently secured together by means of a series of staples D (Fig. 18). The cylindrical container shown in Fig. 18 is then stripped from the mandrel on which it was formed. The overlapping ends of the metal strips B are then secured as by spotwelding in a later operation. The present ma- 30 chine leaves the container in the form shown in Fig. 18. The embodiment illustrated comprises a machine having a base 30 on which is secured a main frame 3| in which is journaled a shaft 32 carrying at the righthand end a mandrel 33 about which the cylindrical container is formed, as will later be described. This mandrel is p mounted on the shaft by means of spider members 34, 35,36 (Fig. 17) which are secured to the shaft 32 by means of a key 31, the whole being held in place by means of a plate 38 and a screw 39. g

The shaft 32 and the mandrel 33 are manually rotatable by means of a crank 40 (Fig. 1) which is applied to the squared end of a shaft 4| (Fig. 17) which is journaled in the spider members 34, 35, 36,.and has flattened surfaces 4| against which bear gripping levers 42 hingedly mounted on pins 43 on the sides of the members 34, 35, 36. These gripping levers lie under an arcuate gripping plate 44 which extends throughout the length of the mandrel and of substantially the same outer diameter, each gripping lever being normally pressed against the shaft 4| by means of a spring 45. Parallel to the gripping plate 44 and spaced therefrom so as to form a longitudinal opening 46 is a stapling anvil 41' which is also substantially arcuate, but which has a longitudinal depression 41" adapted to receive the staples, as will later be explained. The upper side of the gripping lever 42 has a gripping tooth 42.

As the shaft 4| is turned by movement of the crank 48, the lever 42 is forced outwardly toward the gripping plate 44, and the forward edge of a panel A of plywood or the like placed between the gripping teeth 42' and the gripping plate 44 and against the shoulder 44' will thus be gripped. As the crank 48 continues to move the mandrel in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 14, it drags the plywood panel A around with it, and as it does so it passes under a series of pressure feet 48 which are pressed tovward the mandrel by means of springs 48 and are slidable in guides 58, which are carried at the left-hand end by means of a bracket 5I which is adjustably held (Fig. 10) on a screw 52 by means of a lock nut 53. The screw 52 is carried by-means of an arm 3I of theframe 3|. The right-hand end of the guides 58 is adjustably secured by means of set screws 54 to a suitable support. Thus the guides 58 may be ad- J'usted up and down to accommodatemandrels of various sizes.

The shaft 32 and mandrel 33 are movable back and forth by means of a rack 55 and pinion 56 on a shaft 51 (Fig. 10).' The rack 55 is secured to the shaft 32 by means of collars 58, 58, the collar 58 being smaller than the shaft 32 and let into a restricted portion 32 thereof, each of the collars being provided with a lower half as 88* (Fig. 11) which is secured to the upper half by means of cap screws 88. Thus a movement'of the pinion 56 is transmitted through the rack 55 to the mandrel 33. A guard 6I surrounds the protruding end of the shaft 32 and is secured to the frame 3|. Mechanism for driving the pinion 56 both forward and back will later be described.

The mechanism for stripping the cylindrical shell A from the mandrel comprises asleeve '62 (Fig. '17) which surrounds the mandrel, and is carried by a yoke 63 (Fig. 13) which has a guide rod 64 secured thereto at each side by means of a nut 65. This guide rod passes through suitable guides 66, each guide rod having a forward notch 61 and a rear notch 68 (Fig: '1) for the reception" of a retaining pawl 68 which is operable about a shaft 18 by means of .a hand lever 1I and normally held in an upper position by means of a spring 12. The sleeve 62 forms a shoulder against which thevshell.AI-.bears for positioning it longitudinally on the mandrel, the shell having a metal strip overlapping the sleeve 62. Thus it will be seen that the stripping mechanism can move to the right with the mandrel 33, but that when the mandrel reaches its furthermost position to the right, as shown in Fig. 22, the retaining pawl 68 will engage the rear notch 68 so that as the mandrel is retracted, as shown in Fig. 23, the stripper yoke 63 and the sleeve 62 will cause the shell A? to be forced off the mandrel.. these operations will later be described.

A motor 13 serves to drive this machine an it acts through a suitable gear reduction 14 and a silent chain 15 to drive a gear 16 (Fig. 3) journaled on a shaft 11 which is suitably joumaled in standards 18 carried by the base 38. The gear The mechanism for performing 16 is secured to a fly wheel 18 and a sprocket 88 by means of a pin 8|, so that these members all rotate together about the shaft/11. The fly wheel 18 is provided with a series of pins 82, preferably three in number, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. A clutch body 83 keyed to the shaft 11 is provided with a plunger 84 which is movable back and forth parallel to the shaft I1 and is normally urged toward the fly wheel 18 by means of a spring 85. This plunger has a transverse slot 86 formed in one side, the slot having inclined faces 81 at the rear which are adapted to engage a clutch finger 88 which is adapted to enter an annular groove 88 in theclutch body 83. The finger 88 is movable about a pin 88, and is movable up and down by means of a link 8i which is pivotally connected to a lever arm 82 (Fig. 2) which in turn is carried by a shaft 83 which is rotatable by means of a stapling pedal 84.

The lever 82 is normally held'in the position shown in Fig. 7 by means of a spring 82, and in this position the finger 88 lies in the notch 86 and holds the plunger 84 retracted so that the shaft 11 and clutch body 83 are stationary while the .fly wheel 18 is in rotation. On depressing the stapling pedal 84 the finger 88 is raised, as shown-in Fig. 4, and the plunger 84 is then forced toward the fly wheel 18 and engages one of the pins 82, as shown in Fig. 5, thereby causing the fly wheel to drive the shaft 11. Upon releasing the pedal 84 the spring 82* again returns'the finger 88 to the position of Fig. land the plunger 84 is retracted. To assist in bringing the shaft 11 and its associated parts to a sudden, stop, the clutch body 83 is provided with a friction brake band 85 (Fig. 3) which is staple D (Fig. 20) through the overlapping ends of the plywood cylindrical shell A. The shaft 11 also carries an eccentric I88 which operates a connecting rod I8I (Fig. 9) which operates a pawl I82 which is pivotally connected to a plate I83, which is rotatably mounted about a hub I84 adjacent a ratchet wheel I85 which in turn is keyed on the shaft 51. A stop I83 limits the movement of the pawl with respect .to the plate.

Thus on each revolution of the shaft 11 which operates the stapling mechanism, the shaft 51 is rotated a predetermined number of degrees, with the result that the pinion 56 feeds .the rack 55 and mandrel 33 forward a predetermined amount so as to position the shell A for the insertion of the next staple D. As long as the stapling pedal 84 is'held down the rotating shaft 11 will continue to insert a staple, advance the mandrel to the next stapling position, insert a staple, etc., until the shaft 32 and mandrel 33 reach the fur-'- thermost position to the right, shown in Fig. 22. At the end of each stapling operation the pawl I82 is disengaged. The shell A is then completed so far as this machine is concerned and must be removed from the mandrel on which it is held by friction. The mechanism for stripping the shell from the mandrel will now be described.

The shaft 51 (Fig. 8) has a sprocket wheel I86 keyed thereto and this is connected through a chain I01 with a sprocket wheel I00 keyed on a. shaft I09 which is journaled at one end in a bearing in the frame 3|, and at the opposite endin a bracket H0 secured to the ,base. The shaft I09 has a sprocket III journaled thereon and driven by means of a chain H2 from the sprocket; wheel 80 on the shaft 11. The hub of the sprocket III carries a friction clutch H3, the opposite element of the clutch H4 being keyed to the shaft I09 and carrying a series of operating levers H5 which are adapted to be engaged by a.

cup-shaped member I I6 which is slidably mounted on the shaft I09, and moved back and forth by means of a lever I I1 fulcrumed at I I8, the opposite end of the lever connecting through a link I I9 with a lever I20 on a shaft I2I (Fig. 1) which carries a reversing pedal I22.

As the pedal I22 is depressed the clutch mem- 1 her H4 is pressed against the rotating member H3 and friction causes the shaft- I09 to be driven, and this drives the shaft 51 through the sprocket chain I01 and causes the gear 56 (Fig. 10) to be driven in a clockwise direction thereby forcing the shaft 32 and mandrel 33 to the left. Ifat that time the retaining pawl 69 engages the notch 68 the stripper 63 will remain stationary in the position shown in Fig. 22, while the mandrel is withdrawn to the position shown in Fig. 23. This forces the shell A almost off the mandrel, so that the operator can readily remove it by hand. To return the stripper to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 24, the operator depresses the lever H and forces the stripper back by, hand.

In order tosupport the outer end of the mandrel, particularly during the stapling operation, a. foot I23 (Figs. 1 and 13) is provided which is adjustably mounted by means of a screw I24 and nut I25 on the frame 3I.

To insure that the mandrel will be in the cor-' rect position for inserting the staples D with the groove 41 in the anvil 41 immediately beneath the staple hammer 99, I have provided a longitudinal groove 32 in the shaft 32 (Fig. 12) and a detent I26 is adapted to engage this groove so as to prevent the shaft from rotating. The detent is slidably mounted in a housing I21 carried by the frame 3I. A link I28 operably connects this detent with a lever I29 which is keyed on a sleeve I30 rotatably mounted on the shaft I2I and having a releasing pedal I3I keyed. thereto. Thus by depressing the pedal I3I the detent I26 is withdrawn at the same time the crank 40 is rotated to form the cylindrical shell.

In Figs. 25 to'31 inclusive is shown a modified form of the machine in which the mandrel instead of being driven by hand is driven by a reversible motor, as will now be described. The mandrel 233 is carried on and driven by a shaft 232 '(Fig. 28). This shaft is slidable in a sleeve 30I which has a gear 302 firmly .pressed thereon at one end, this sleeve being suitably journaled in a portion of the main frame 23I. The gear 302 serves as a guide collar for the sleeve 30I, while the opposite end of the sleeve carries a cylindrical collar-303 which is secured thereto by means of -a key 304, the latter being held in place by a set screw 305. The shaft 232 has a keyway 306 in which slides I a key 301 which is likewise keyed in the sleeve 30I and in the gear 302, the key having an enlargement ateach end so as to retain it in 'plac- This permits the shaft 232 to slide endwis through the sleeve andfgear, but to be keyed thereto so as to be rotatable therewith at all;

times. The gear-302 mesheswith a gear 308 which is journaled on a stud 309, the gear 300 also meshing with a pinion 3I0 which is keyed on a shaft 3H journaled in suitable hearings in the-main frame and having keyed thereon one element of a friction drive 3I2, the opposite 'ele-' ment of the friction drive being secured to a gear 3I3 which-is journaled on the shaft 3H. The gear 3I3 meshes with a pinion 3I4 on a gear reduction 3I5 which in turn is driven by a reversible motor 3I6.

Referring to Fig. 26, the shaft 232 has a collar 303 slidably mounted thereon as was previously described, and this has a notch 303 in its face which is adapted to be engaged by a detent 3" which is slidably mounted in guides 3I8 and movable by means of a bell crank 3I9 and a. rod 320 which in turn is operated by the latch release pedal 222 of Fig. 25. To form a cylindrical shell from a plywood panel A it is gripped between a gripping plate (Fig. 31) and gripping teeth 2429,

other is mounted on a rotatable rod 242 which extends through the end of the mandrel (Fig. 30 I and carries a lever 242 with a handle.

By moving this lever the gripping teeth are set into the plywood panel and firmly hold it, the

toggle being moved,beyond dead center. The

lever 242 is moved back to the dotted line position to release the gripping teeth from the panel.

The panel is held gripped during the stapling I operation as before and the stapling mechanism is the same as that previously described.

The stripper 263 is similar to the stripper 63 and has two spaced guide rods 264 secured therein by nuts 265 and slidable in suitable guides 266. A latch 269 (Fig. 29) is rotatably mounted on the shaft 232 and is adapted to be rotated by a spring 269 into engagement with notches 261 and 261- Thus the stripper adon the guide rods 254. vanees with the mandrel and in the extreme outermost position the latch 269 engages the notches 261 and serves to hold the stripper while the mandrel is drawn back'through it on reversing the motor 3I6, thereby stripping the stapled cylindrical shell from the mandrel.

It will be understood that the terms plywood, strip or "panel" as used in the specification and claims are intended to cover any panel of flexible material which is self-supporting and which is capable of being bent around a mandrel, and having its overlapping margins secured together as by riveting or stapling.

While I have shown and described but a few embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood .that it is capable of many modifications. .Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may bemade which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the inventionas dis closed in the appended claims.

1. Mechanism for forming a cylindrical container comprising a mandrel, means for rotating the mandrel, means carried by the mandrel for gripping one end of a panel, means for winding the panel about the mandrel as the mandrel is turnedto form a tube having overlapping ends, means for stapling the overlapping enda'means for advancing the mandrel longitudinally a distance equal to' the desired staple spacing, and means for stripping the cylindrical container from the mandrel.

2.Mechanism forforming a cylindrical container comprising a mandrel, means for rotating 4 A the mandrel, means carried by the mandrel for gripping one end of a panel, means for winding the panel about the mandrel as the mandrel is turned to form a tube having overlapping ends, means for stapling the overlapping ends, means for advancing the mandrel longitudinally in a step by step manner the desired staple spacing, and means for stripping the cylindrical container from the mandrel, the stapling means, advancing means and stripping means being driven by a single source of power.

3. Mechanism for forming a cylindrical container comprising a mandrel, means for rotating the mandrel, means carried by the mandrel for gripping one end of a panel, means for winding the panel about the mandrel as the mandrel is turned to form atube havingoverlapping ends, means for stapling the overlapping ends, means for advancing the mandrel longitudinally in a step bystep manner the desired staple spacing, means for stripping the cylindrical container from the mandrel, and manually controlled means for preventing rotation 01' the mandrel during the stapling operation but permitting endwise movement of the mandrel.

4.- Mechanism for forming a-cylindrical container out 01' a flexible panel having an overlapping metal .strip secured to each end comprising a mandrel, means for rotating the mandrel, means carried by the mandrel ior gripping one end of a panel, means for winding the panel about the mandrel as the mandrel is turned to form a tube having overlapping ends, means for stapling the overlappingendameans tor advancing the mandrel a distance equal to the desired staple spacing, a stripper surrounding the mandrel and slidable thereover, means for holding the stripper in an advanced position, and means for withdrawing the mandrel therethrough to strip the container from the mandrel. 5. Mechanism for forming a cylindrical container out or a flexible panel having an overlapping metal strip secured to each end comprising a mandrel, means for rotating the mandrel, means carried by the mandrel for gripping one end or a panel, means for winding the panel about the mandrel as'themandrel is turned to i'orm a tube having overlapping ends, means for stapling the overlapping ends, means for advanc-.

ing the mandrel a distance equal to the desired staple spacing, a stripper surrounding the mandrel and slidable .thereover, means for holding the stripper in an advanced position, and means for withdrawing the mandrel therethrough to strip the container from the mandrel, thestripper having a shoulder for positioning the panel longitudinally on the mandrel and for forming a bearing which engagesthe container in the stripping operation.

6. Mechanism for forming a cylindrical container out or a flexible panel having an overlapping metal strip secured to each endcomprising a mandrel, means for rotating the mandrel, means carried by the mandrel for gripping one end of a panel, means for winding the panel about the mandrel as the mandrel is turned to form a tube having overlapping ends, means for stapling the overlapping ends, means for advancing the mandrel longitudinally a distance equal to the desired staple spacing, a stripper surrounding the mandrel and slidable thereover, means for holding the stripper in an advanced position, and means for withdrawing the mandrel therethrough to strip the container from the mandrel, the stripper having a shoulder for positioning the panel longitudinally on the mandrel and for forming a bearing which engages the container in the stripping the mandrel, the stripping means being carried by the mandrel and advancing therewith, means for holding the stripping means, and means for withdrawing the mandrel while the stripping means is so held to strip the container from the mandrel. a

8. Mechanism for Iorming a cylindrical container comprising a mandrel,- means for rotating the mandrel, means carried by the mandrel ior gripping one end of a panel, means for winding the panel about the mandrel as the mandrel is turned to form a tube havingoverlapping ends, means for stapling the overlapping ends, means for advancing the mandrel longitudinally a distance equal to the desired staple spacing, and means for stripping the cylindrical container from the mandrel, the stripping means being carriedby the mandrel and advancing therewith sequentially and simultaneously, means for holdingthe stripping means, and means for withdrawing the mandrel whfle the stripping means is so held to strip the container from the mandrel.

9. Mechanism for forming a cylindrical container comprising a mandrel, means for rotating the mandrel, means carried by the mandrel for gripping one end of a panel, means-tor winding,

the panel about the mandrel as the mandrel is turned to form a tube having overlapping ends, means for stapling the overlapping ends, means for advancing the mandrel longitudinally a distance equal to the desired staple spacing, and means for stripping the cylindrical container from the mandrel, the stripping means encircling the mandrel and being carried thereby and advancing therewith, means for-holding the stripping means, and means for withdrawing the mandrel while the stripping means is so held to strip the container from the mandrel.

10. Mechanism for forming a cylindrical container comprising a mandrel, means for rotating the mandrel, means carried by the mandrel for gripping one end of a panel, means for winding the panel about the mandrel as the mandrel is turned to ior'm a tube having overlapping ends, means for stapling the overlapping ends, means for advancing the mandrel longitudinally a distance equal to the desired staple spacing, and means for stripping the cylindrical container from the mandrel, the stripping means being carried by the mandrel and advancing therewith, a rod for guiding the stripping means, said rod having ALBERT H.

'a notch corresponding to the outer end of move- 

